The European Union and the Third World

Book abstract:

This book explores the intricate historical relationship between the European Union and the Third World, bearing in mind that this relationship has altered considerably since the end of the last decade. Although the EU has concentrated, historically speaking, on the ACP countries (African, Caribbean and Pacific), and not on South America and Asia, the book acknowledges this as a problem, along with the rise of Eastern Europe as a question for both EU development policy and integration.

After an introduction which sets the European Union and the Third World in context, the book is broken down into eight chapters. Chapter one deals with the four decades of African, Caribbean and Pacific relations, including, for example, the Lomé Conventions, and chapter two examines Latin America and Asia. Chapter three looks at problems of decision-making and reforming institutional structures, such as the Santer Commission and ECHO, and chapter four evaluates good governance, with discussions, for instance, on democracy, human rights, economic conditionality and debt. In chapters five and six there is, respectively, work on the 1996-2000 reform process (including the Green Paper and the post-Lomé alternatives) and on the Cotonou Partnership Agreement. Chapter eight provides an analysis on the challenge facing the implementation of Cotonou, and chapter nine concludes by looking at development and integration theory.

The book is aimed at students, practitioners and general readers interested in the issues.